The “haunted” Hoult house stands – well, up to a point – in a paddock alongside State Highway 6 at Wai-iti.

The original Hoult, Joseph, arrived in Nelson on the Prince of Wales in 1842, not long after the first batch of English ships had nudged into the Haven. He moved to Wai-iti, started milling trees, and raised a family, his sons eventually joining him in the business.

He built the house for his oldest, also named Joseph, who took his new bride Maria to live there in 1859. A good Catholic, Maria bore four children in five years – but the last, a baby named for his father and grandfather, died at six weeks old.

A month later Maria was gone too, aged just 26 – and her husband found himself not just one of the first steam sawmillers in the district, but mother and father to three children under five.

No idea when the last people moved out, but it was likely used to store hay.